OCEAN CITY -- Earl Campbell walked into Ocean City Police Department headquarters on Dec. 5 and paid $1 to become the owner of Charlie, his longtime K-9 partner who was in urgent need of surgery.
Campbell then walked out to his car and told his wife he couldn't abide the way the department had let the dog suffer, in pain, for the past week. It was enough, he felt, for him to resign in protest. The former OCPD officer tendered his resignation by email from the passenger seat on the way home. Then they took Charlie to undergo a surgical procedure from which he is now recovering.
Campbell said in an interview he was deeply upset with the way police leaders responded to his urging that his dog be retired, so he could assume ownership and pay for the seven-year-old German shepherd's medical care. He first requested that the dog be retired on Nov. 28, but was unable to garner department approval until a week later.
"I basically couldn't honestly put my dog out on the street and put someone in danger," Campbell said of Charlie, who was losing more and more feeling in his hind legs. Campbell himself was also on medical leave. On Nov. 30, Campbell determined his dog was suffering and would need a surgery as soon as possible. As Charlie's condition worsened, the delay grew increasingly unacceptable to him, he said.
The reasons for Campbell's disgruntlement and resignation were likely a result of miscommunication and misunderstanding, and so was the delay in the retirement, according to Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino.
Charlie had been injured on-duty in 2009 and underwent surgery to remove three vertebrae from his spine. Scar tissue formed that began to put pressure on his spinal cord, which caused a loss of use in his hind legs. It initially minor but went quickly downhill over a recent two-week period.
The dog needed a $6,000 surgery to remove the tissue, and Campbell knew OCPD was unlikely to spend more to keep Charlie on active duty. He said he didn't expect them to, since they had spent a great deal of money in the past to ensure Charlie's health. Campbell and DiPino both say Campbell never, at any point, asked the department to pay for the surgery.
To act in accordance with OCPD policy, DiPino has to personally approve the retirement, and a document must be provided by a veterinarian stating the dog is no longer fit for police work, she said in an interview. DiPino was first informed of Charlie's situation on Dec. 5, she said. While Campbell was pressing the department to retire Charlie, she was in Baltimore, needed for testimony in a
wrongful termination suit against the department.
On Dec. 5 DiPino retired Charlie without hesitation, she said, before even seeing the note from the vet. It was one of the quickest retirements she's ever done.
"I trusted the handler to tell me the condition of his animal, and we allowed (Campbell) to get the pup for $1," she said. "I know of nothing else we could do but take the officer at face value, and I think our police department responded properly and in a heartfelt manner. We care about our police dogs and horses as much as we do the police officers; we consider them a member of the police department family, and their care is quite important to us."
Campbell first contacted Lt. Scott Kirkpatrick, the officer in charge of the K-9 unit, about Charlie's need to retire. Campbell is adamant that Kirkpatrick told him many times he was unable to make a decision to retire Charlie, and that it would require Town Council approval -- with the next council meeting several days away. He said also that Kirkpatrick was lax about returning his emails and phone calls, and that he wasn't told until Friday evening he needed to get documentation from a vet, when it was too late for him to reach the animal doctor until after the weekend.
According to DiPino, council only came up in the conversation because the veterinary documentation is needed for OCPD to justify the need for a new dog during the fiscal budgeting season. DiPino said also that Kirkpatrick was out sick during the week when Campbell was pressing for the retirement.
"(Kirkpatrick) wasn't saying council had to approve... He was saying we need a letter from a vet to get another K-9 dog. I believe it was a miscommunication," DiPino said. She said Kirkpatrick would not have done anything intentionally to delay Campbell's request, saying he is a former K-9 officer who cares deeply for the animals.
Campbell, however, disagrees, saying Kirkpatrick is "a compulsive liar who has gotten away with it for years," and that many officers have lost their jobs because of him. The department declined to make Kirkpatrick available for comment.
Since Campbell went public with his story, he has heard from people who want to help him pay for the surgery, something he said he isn't seeking. The reason he quit, he said, was to bring attention to the fact that Charlie had suffered for days.
DiPino said she maintains an open door policy, that all of the officers have her cell phone number and know where she lives. "I've had officers contact me in unusual times and situations, and I encourage them to do that," DiPino said.
Shortly after resigning, Campbell told his story to the blog Salisbury News, which reported -- wrongly, he says -- he had tried to convince the town to pay for the surgery. The post was met with anonymous reader comments that disenchanted him. Some were supportive, but many others levied accusations and criticism at Campbell, OCPD, DiPino, Kirkpatrick and others.
"Going to (the blog) was probably the worst thing I ever did," Campbell said.
smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14
Campbell then walked out to his car and told his wife he couldn't abide the way the department had let the dog suffer, in pain, for the past week. It was enough, he felt, for him to resign in protest. The former OCPD officer tendered his resignation by email from the passenger seat on the way home. Then they took Charlie to undergo a surgical procedure from which he is now recovering.
Campbell said in an interview he was deeply upset with the way police leaders responded to his urging that his dog be retired, so he could assume ownership and pay for the seven-year-old German shepherd's medical care. He first requested that the dog be retired on Nov. 28, but was unable to garner department approval until a week later.
"I basically couldn't honestly put my dog out on the street and put someone in danger," Campbell said of Charlie, who was losing more and more feeling in his hind legs. Campbell himself was also on medical leave. On Nov. 30, Campbell determined his dog was suffering and would need a surgery as soon as possible. As Charlie's condition worsened, the delay grew increasingly unacceptable to him, he said.
The reasons for Campbell's disgruntlement and resignation were likely a result of miscommunication and misunderstanding, and so was the delay in the retirement, according to Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino.
Charlie had been injured on-duty in 2009 and underwent surgery to remove three vertebrae from his spine. Scar tissue formed that began to put pressure on his spinal cord, which caused a loss of use in his hind legs. It initially minor but went quickly downhill over a recent two-week period.
The dog needed a $6,000 surgery to remove the tissue, and Campbell knew OCPD was unlikely to spend more to keep Charlie on active duty. He said he didn't expect them to, since they had spent a great deal of money in the past to ensure Charlie's health. Campbell and DiPino both say Campbell never, at any point, asked the department to pay for the surgery.
To act in accordance with OCPD policy, DiPino has to personally approve the retirement, and a document must be provided by a veterinarian stating the dog is no longer fit for police work, she said in an interview. DiPino was first informed of Charlie's situation on Dec. 5, she said. While Campbell was pressing the department to retire Charlie, she was in Baltimore, needed for testimony in a
wrongful termination suit against the department.
On Dec. 5 DiPino retired Charlie without hesitation, she said, before even seeing the note from the vet. It was one of the quickest retirements she's ever done.
"I trusted the handler to tell me the condition of his animal, and we allowed (Campbell) to get the pup for $1," she said. "I know of nothing else we could do but take the officer at face value, and I think our police department responded properly and in a heartfelt manner. We care about our police dogs and horses as much as we do the police officers; we consider them a member of the police department family, and their care is quite important to us."
Campbell first contacted Lt. Scott Kirkpatrick, the officer in charge of the K-9 unit, about Charlie's need to retire. Campbell is adamant that Kirkpatrick told him many times he was unable to make a decision to retire Charlie, and that it would require Town Council approval -- with the next council meeting several days away. He said also that Kirkpatrick was lax about returning his emails and phone calls, and that he wasn't told until Friday evening he needed to get documentation from a vet, when it was too late for him to reach the animal doctor until after the weekend.
According to DiPino, council only came up in the conversation because the veterinary documentation is needed for OCPD to justify the need for a new dog during the fiscal budgeting season. DiPino said also that Kirkpatrick was out sick during the week when Campbell was pressing for the retirement.
"(Kirkpatrick) wasn't saying council had to approve... He was saying we need a letter from a vet to get another K-9 dog. I believe it was a miscommunication," DiPino said. She said Kirkpatrick would not have done anything intentionally to delay Campbell's request, saying he is a former K-9 officer who cares deeply for the animals.
Campbell, however, disagrees, saying Kirkpatrick is "a compulsive liar who has gotten away with it for years," and that many officers have lost their jobs because of him. The department declined to make Kirkpatrick available for comment.
Since Campbell went public with his story, he has heard from people who want to help him pay for the surgery, something he said he isn't seeking. The reason he quit, he said, was to bring attention to the fact that Charlie had suffered for days.
DiPino said she maintains an open door policy, that all of the officers have her cell phone number and know where she lives. "I've had officers contact me in unusual times and situations, and I encourage them to do that," DiPino said.
Shortly after resigning, Campbell told his story to the blog Salisbury News, which reported -- wrongly, he says -- he had tried to convince the town to pay for the surgery. The post was met with anonymous reader comments that disenchanted him. Some were supportive, but many others levied accusations and criticism at Campbell, OCPD, DiPino, Kirkpatrick and others.
"Going to (the blog) was probably the worst thing I ever did," Campbell said.
smuska@dmg.gannett.com
410-213-9442, ext. 14
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